Drunk Farooqui forced himself upon me: US researcher to court

A 35-year-old American researcher today told a Delhi court that Bollywood movie Peepli Live's co-director Mahmood Farooqui had allegedly forced him upon her in an inebriated state after inviting her for dinner at his residence.
The complainant's counsel told Additional Sessions Judge Sanjiv Jain that when the woman visited Farooqui's house on March 28, he was found sitting in a heavily drunken state and allegedly sexually assaulted her.
During arguments on framing of charges against Farooqui, complainant's counsel Vrinda Grover read out the woman's statements from the FIR and the one recorded before a magistrate under section 164 of CrPC, and cited her email correspondence with the accused after the alleged incident.

The court will continue hearing arguments on framing of charges and the bail plea of the accused on August 27.
Seeking bail, Farooqui's counsel argued that her client was "a historian and scholar, who had a performance the next morning of the alleged incident and there were several people present in his house preparing for the same, so no such incident could have taken place."
The defence lawyer also questioned why the complainant did not lodge FIR immediately after the incident and chose to wait for three months.

"She was not a helpless woman and was well acquainted with people here as she was coming to India since 2002," the lawyer argued.

Arguing that rape charge was made out against Farooqui, the complainant's counsel read out the woman email to the accused in which she had blamed him for "forcing her and committing the shameful act with her."
Grover added that the woman could not gather courage to lodge an FIR immediately after the incident as she was in shock and needed to be with her family in USA.
She also submitted that an email was sent from a relative of Farooqui to the academic supervisor of the complainant expressing concern for the accused, which showed he was trying to influence witnesses.

Supporting the submissions of the woman's counsel, the prosecutor argued that the act of the accused fell under the definition of section 376 (rape) of the IPC and the rape charge should be framed against him.